The ancient arts of navigation and voyaging that brought the people of Hawai‘i to their island homes are being revived. As part of a wider movement to reintroduce traditional ways, Native Hawaiians are mastering the knowledge and skills of their elders. By restoring their heritage, this new generation of voyagers seeks to heal the people.

Migrating voyagers from the South Pacific began to settle on Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe, named after Kanaloa, the god of the ocean, around the year 1,000. Over the centuries, the island became home to families of farmers and fishers and developed into a natural observatory for keeping the solar and lunar…

Much of the valuable knowledge of voyaging was lost as a consequence of the suppression of traditional ways by American colonizers and missionaries, and by the invasion, claimed annexation, and occupation of Hawai‘i by the United States government.

In January 1976, Native Hawaiians staged an occupation of Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe to draw national attention to injustices suffered by Native Hawaiians because of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by U.S. Naval forces on January 17, 1893. They later formed the Protect…

Kanaloa Kaho‘olawe served as the unexpected catalyst of a Native Hawaiian cultural renaissance. By rallying around protection of the island, Native Hawaiians asserted the traditional value of Aloha ‘Āina (love of the land) as both a cultural and spiritual practice…

In 1976, in an effort to reintroduce the lost art of Native Hawaiian voyaging, Nainoa Thompson began his search for a master navigator to learn from. He eventually persuaded Mau Piailug of Satawal, Federated States of Micronesia, to break with custom and teach an outsider the tradition of wayfinding…